Note: U.S. Canadian and British governments are currently cautioning against non-essential travel to Peru due to political unrest, particularly in Lima, Machu Picchu and border areas.
A uniformed doorman is waiting at the end of a red carpet to handle our bags as we arrive at the columned Spanish colonial entrance of the Country Club Lima Hotel. At the welcoming reception desk, a bottle of Champagne waits on ice, but we opt for a refreshing glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Fresh flowers and museum quality furnishings are everywhere.
Staying in Lima before a cruise on Seabourn Cruises‘ new expedition ship Seabourn Venture, we’re about to discover a remarkable hotel that retains all the elegance of the grand hotels of the Gilded Age, when it was built nearly a century ago. But while the service, food and attention to detail remain the same, the hotel itself has emerged from a recent two-year renovation with state of the art amenities that make it the place to stay in Peru’s sprawling capital. Here’s why:
It glistens in a city not known for its polish
Don’t ever consider renting a car in Lima. Traffic is not for the faint-hearted. Getting to the hotel from Lima’s airport is an exercise in how truly congested traffic in Peru’s capital of 9 million people can be. To avoid main streets that are gridlocked, the taxi ducks down narrow side streets lined with dusty concrete buildings hidden behind high fences. Drivers use horns as liberally as their brakes as pedestrians, push carts and mini-buses jockey for primacy at every intersection.
We finally reach the coastal highway with the Pacific Ocean on one side and looming cliffs on the other until we reach the exit to the upscale San Isidro residential district. Here, the Country Club, originally a mansion that became the unofficial 19th hole clubhouse of a nearby golf course, was first opened in 1927. Expanded over the years into an 83-room hotel, its columned portico trimmed with graceful arches makes it a landmark that is now officially declared a Peruvian Cultural Monument.
The interior is every bit as grand, from its high, beamed ceilings and gilded mirrors to its polished wood floors and ever attentive staff. Fresh flowers are everywhere as are elegant furnishings that are reproductions of Peruvian antiques in Lima’s famed Pedro de Osma Museum cultural collection.
Settling in to elegance
We’re escorted to our apartment-sized second-floor king room that features gleaming hardwood floors and design elements influenced by Peruvian history and nature. The windows are triple glazed and trimmed with rich golden drapes. The bath features a deep tub and there’s a separate shower room large enough to host a handball match that features an enormous rain forest shower head.
A room attendant arrives as we’re unpacking with a welcoming treat of fresh macaroons and places a vase with a fresh rose on the vanity. Complimentary wi-fi is fast and there’s a satellite television system with a vast menu of international channels. A map on the nightstand suggests walks around the upscale neighborhood, which features shops, a convention center and casino across a landscaped street. There’s a bakery and a Starbucks around the corner–but the hotel is the place to eat and drink in style.
The Bar Inglés would feel at home in England
Even the ice is monogrammed in the Country Club’s cozy and popular watering hole with a view of the hotel’s palm tree lined entrance. Styled after an elegant wood paneled English club bar, the Bar Inglés has to be among the most well stocked anywhere in the world. Sure they do pisco sours, but they have entire shelves of Scotches and rare cognacs that are old enough to be of legal drinking age themselves.
The staff of mixologists are not just bartenders, they’re artists of cocktail science who make tending this bar their careers. I recommend getting a seat at the bar to watch them turn even the simplest drink into an artwork. Their tools of the trade include some of the most elegant shakers, tongs and tweezers you’ll ever see. A miniature branding iron even adds the hotel’s logo onto ice cubes. The presentations come with upscale bar snacks including fresh-fried Peruvian potato chips, but you can order entire meals from the next door Perroquet restaurant to be served here.
Le Perroquet is the place to eat and be seen
When you stay at the Country Club Hotel, the temptation is to dine here as well because there aren’t many restaurant options nearby. And as it turns out, Le Perroquet is a destination restaurant even for those not staying here. As you might expect, the menu features ceviches and fresh catches of the day, but there are also pages of Peruvian, Argentinian and European favorites.
The service by a team of dedicated waiters in impeccable and the presentations are exquisite. The most coveted tables are in a raised area at the end of the restaurant and on a tented outdoor terrace that’s popular even when the evening temperatures can be a bit cool, with heaters to take away the chill.
It’s the address for those in the know in Lima
This has long been the place to stay for visiting diplomats and stars. Fun fact, John Wayne met Peruvian actress Pilar Pallet, who was to become his future wife, during a stay at the Country Club hotel in the 1950s. Other celebs in their address book include Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Nelson Rockefeller and Ava Gardner. Stars still frequent, along with diplomats and industrialists. And we certainly felt like celebrities during our stay. Everyone is treated to the same level of timeless elegance and personal service.
The bottom line
Even the lowest level of room classes here are larger than you’ll find in hotels anywhere. No room in the hotel is smaller than a very ample 430 to 600 square feet, furnished with either a king bed or two full sized beds. All feature full marble bathrooms, sofas and a desk. A number of apartment sized suites measure from 700 to 1,600 square feet.
The price for such luxury is much lower in Lima than it is at a grand hotel in most other world capitals, starting at about $200 U.S. a night. Country Club Lima Hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World
Story by Wallace Immen, executive editor The Cruisington Times
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